What is the ultimate goal of any religion? Now you may be thinking, "Come on Alex, how are you going to tackle a question like that in a three paragraph blog post?" Well, the answer to the latter question, posed mostly to myself I guess, is that to me the answer is pretty simple and as such I feel that while three paragraphs is probably not adequate enough to delve deep into it, it will suffice to get the ball rolling. So back to the main question of what the ultimate goal of religion is. What I feel is the ultimate goal of any religion is to bring a sense of peace into the lives of its practitioners. For those religions that have a God or gods, the purpose is also to bring any person closer to their God. Even if a religion has no set God, the purpose is to bring a person closer to universal truth. There are different avenues depending on the religion you claim as your own, but all religions have that as a main purpose. Some may twist the purpose to become more esoteric in nature, more convoluted and confusing for some, yet the answer remains the same for all. Even through the different avenues presented for attaining unity with God, the universe, or truth, there is one pervasive theme that can not be ignored, and that is purification. Whether through prayer, abstinance, fasting, or any other means, purification is a necessary part of all religions, a path by which we can rid our bodies, minds, and souls of impurities and allow us to come closer to the ultimate truth, or God if you will.
Now some may question my own devotion as a Catholic by my saying that all religions are essentially the same when it all gets boiled down, but am I losing my devotion or am I simply accepting different religions and their own unique paths? Personally, my devotion to the Catholic faith has not waivered, yet despite my devotion, I have not let it suffice to only know the Catholic religion. My curiosity about the world, the religions that abound throughout the world, and what it all means has led me to learn about other religions and their paths to enlightenment, the afterlife, or truth. I feel that the Catholic religion is right for me, yet for others it is not. I do not find fault with anyone who does not claim to be a Christian or Catholic mainly because I understand that everyone has different needs and one religion does not hold the answers for everyone in my mind. I know, that last statement was vaguely hipocritical if you look at what every religion says, mainly that theirs is the one true path. Yet if everyone is searching for that inner peace, the unity with God or the universe, then why can't there be more than one path, more than one religion that is correct. If everyone is striving for that intangible peace, that sense of calm, and we can all achieve it througth different means, then I am all for it. To me, the problem arises when a religion claims superiority to other religions (which many do) and as a result leads to conflict between various religions. We see evidence of this throughout the world on a daily basis, wars fought in the name of God, Allah, the divine other, whatever. If only people could come to accept that everyone is on a similar journey, than perhaps there would be more tolerance and acceptance of other's religious paths and what they entail.
There is the argument for non-believers that they don't need a formal religion to feel peace and calm and as such, religion is a bogus entity that gives people a false sense of reality or is merely there to suck people's wallets dry. If there is intolerance on their part, perhaps it is because they do not truly understand what religion is for. Perhaps they do not need a formal religion to attain peace in their lives. I accept that some people feel that way, I just happen not to, but that doesn't mean I will discriminate against them or view them differently because of their views. For many people, religion is one of those taboo subjects to talk about, especially if the views of any two people differ in any way. I feel that religion has attained such a stature because people don't want to consider other's religions as acceptable or equal in any way to theirs. Even by my explaining religion in such a simple way; that it is a means to peace, unity with God, a path to the afterlife, I will anger some readers because I am oversimplifying things. Yet am I? I feel that in order to come to a place of understanding and acceptance, we must first simplify the goal of all religions and use that as a basis to move forward. Only by doing so can we truly become enlightened and see that what works for us may not work for someone else, and you know what, that is perfectly OK. I am not meaning to preach here. Rather, I am hoping that by explaining what I feel ties people together, especially through religion, its simplicity, than perhaps we can become more accepting of those around us, especially those with different beliefs and views. In any case, thats what I have for today, and let me just finish by saying that I hope we can all come to a greater understanding of others beliefs and views, and through that understanding accept them and help them on their journey.
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